The Standard Bar Exam
The Massachusetts Bar Examination is a timed, in-person examination administered over two days in four, three-hour sessions, from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from approximately 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are scheduled breaks between each testing session on both testing days. The bar exam is administered twice each year, in February and July.
The first exam day consists of two performance tests (MPT) in the morning and six essay (MEE) questions in the afternoon. The performance and essay questions are designed to assess, among other things, the applicant’s ability to communicate their analysis effectively in writing. Questions are provided in paper, and applicants may handwrite or use their personal laptop computers to record their answers.
The second day consists of 200 multiple-choice questions (MBE), with 100 questions administered in the morning session and 100 questions in the afternoon session. Questions are provided in paper, and applicants record their answers by completing a scantron form.
Applicants are seated at a space pre-assigned by the Board of Bar Examiners. They are allowed to have water at their testing space, and are provided with foam earplugs. Other items requested require pre-exam approval. The examination is administered in-person. Applicants are required to refrain from speaking. They may leave their seat only to use the restroom and must notify the proctor that they are doing so. Applicants are monitored by trained proctors.
Accommodations
The Board of Bar Examiners (Board) administers the bar examination and all other services of this office in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Massachusetts law. A qualified applicant with a disability who is otherwise eligible to take the bar examination, but who cannot demonstrate under standard testing conditions that they possess the knowledge and skills to be admitted to the Massachusetts bar, may request reasonable test accommodations.
The Board will make reasonable modifications to any policies, practices, and procedures that might otherwise prevent individuals with disabilities from taking the bar examination in an accessible place or manner, provided such modifications do not result in a fundamental alteration to the examination or other admission requirements, impose an undue burden, or jeopardize examination security.
Requests for test accommodations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The applicant must submit documentation from one or more qualified professionals that provide information on the functional limitations, the applicant’s current level of impairment, and the rationale for the accommodations requested on the bar examination. In addition, the applicant must submit verifying documentation of his or her history of accommodations, if any. All documentation will be retained by the Board and may be submitted to one or more qualified professionals for an impartial review. Accommodations granted elsewhere do not necessarily entitle an applicant to accommodations on the bar examination, although the Board of Bar Examiners gives considerable weight to documentation relating to past accommodations received in similar testing situations or in response to an IEP or Section 504 plan.
Arrangements for a Health-Related Condition
If you have a health-related condition that can be addressed in a standard testing room and without deviation from the standard testing schedule, you do not need to apply for accommodations, and should instead complete the Bar Exam Health Related Conditions form on the Applicant Portal. Such arrangements may include: accessing medication during testing; use of an assistive device such as lumbar support, diabetic supplies, or a lactation pump; or access to food during testing due to a medical condition.
A testing accommodation is an adjustment or modification to the standard testing conditions, including the testing schedule and/or testing room. If your request includes extra testing time, additional breaks, and/or a testing environment with fewer examinees, then you must submit a complete application for testing accommodations.
Definitions
The following words shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
- Disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the applicant. In the bar examination setting, the impairment must limit an applicant’s ability to demonstrate, under standard testing conditions, that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities tested on the bar examination.
- Physical impairment is a physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the body’s systems.
- Mental impairment is any mental or psychological disorder such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, or any specific learning disability.
- Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.
- Reasonable accommodation is an adjustment or modification of the standard testing conditions, or an appropriate auxiliary aid or service, that ameliorates the impact of the applicant’s disability without doing any of the following: a.) fundamentally altering the nature of the bar examination, including but not limited to compromising the validity or reliability of the examination; b.) imposing an undue burden on the Board of Bar Examiners; or c.) jeopardizing examination security.
- Qualified professional is a licensed physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other health care provider who has appropriate training in the field related to the applicant’s disability
Please note that a diagnosis and a disability are not inherently the same; applicants for accommodations must not merely demonstrate that they have been diagnosed with a condition, but that this condition rises to the level of a disability as defined above.